Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is usually identified and managed across different parts of the health service. The CKD Special Interest Group (SIG) brings together UKKA members working across kidney and primary care to improve how CKD is identified, assessed and managed.
This SIG provides a national, multiprofessional forum for sharing expertise, developing practical resources and supporting more coordinated care across the CKD pathway.
The UK CKD Guide provides practical information for healthcare professionals involved in identifying and managing chronic kidney disease. Separate resources for primary and secondary care make it easier to find information relevant to different roles and settings.
Medical Co-Chair
MPT Co-Chair
The SIG’s work includes:
The Kidney Failure Risk Equation (KFRE) helps healthcare professionals assess the risk that someone with CKD will progress to kidney failure.
The workstream supports consistent implementation across the UK, shares learning from different systems and considers how KFRE results are reported and used across laboratories, primary care and specialist kidney services.
The eGFR Working Group focuses on improving the accuracy, consistency and equity of kidney function assessment across the UK. It considers the performance of eGFR equations based on creatinine, cystatin C or both, and how variation in testing and reporting can affect CKD identification, staging and prescribing.
Its work has included the AIM CKD UK study and a UKKA Patient Safety Alert on the lack of standardisation in kidney function measurement. The SIG is also considering how emerging evidence on cystatin C should inform access, implementation and national guidance.
The CKD SIG links with the UKKA’s wider work on integrated CKD care to support better coordination between primary and secondary care.
This includes sharing learning from local models, identifying common principles for effective integrated services and ensuring that different professions and all four UK nations inform the work.
The education workstream develops and reviews learning for healthcare professionals involved in CKD care, including those working in primary care.
Its work includes e-learning, webinars and practical resources that support the implementation of effective CKD care across different roles and settings.
NephroBuddies is a peer-learning project being developed to connect professionals working across primary and secondary care. The proposed model uses structured professional pairing to support shared learning and stronger collaboration in CKD care.